By Nicolás Misculin
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s Javier Milei promised in his first speech as president-elect that there would be “no room for half measures” to revive the country from its worst economic crisis in two decades. However, he may face challenges in achieving his goals unless he can forge political alliances.
The radical libertarian outsider leads a coalition with limited representation in Congress and will need to negotiate with conservative allies and a skeptical Peronist opposition to push forward his agenda.
The economist and relative political novice scored a historic win in the South American country’s presidential runoff, breaking the hegemony of the main two political coalitions amid soaring inflation and rising poverty.
He has pledged a bold economic plan, including measures such as eventually shutting the central bank, adopting the dollar as the official currency, reducing the size of government, and privatizing state firms like energy giant YPF.
However, Milei will face pushback in Congress due to his coalition’s limited number of seats in both the Senate and the lower Chamber of Deputies.
“Milei will need a realignment of alliances to push through laws in Congress. If not, he will not be able to govern through the legislature,” said local political analyst Raul Timerman.
Although Milei may be able to use emergency executive orders in some cases, for most law changes he will need to secure at least 50% majority support in Congress.
His coalition also lacks regional governors or mayors, which are essential in a country where the provinces hold significant power.
“The Milei government will surely have to rely on its political allies to start with,” said Federico Aurelio, who heads consulting firm Aresco. “And then it will need to engage in dialogue with the entire political spectrum.”
Milei’s campaign has not yet addressed how it will work with other political parties, despite his declaration to welcome all to his project.
‘THEY ARE NEGOTIATING’
Milei will likely face strong pushback from the defeated Peronist coalition, but has formed an uneasy alliance with members of the conservative bloc, including former conservative President Mauricio Macri and former candidate Patricia Bullrich.
“They are negotiating,” a source from the conservative bloc told Reuters about the chances of its officials joining Milei’s Cabinet.
“To usher in his government, he has a huge challenge,” said analyst Mariel Fornoni from consultancy Management & Fit.
“The first thing I think is that he’ll need to understand the rules of the political game. And that is something to which he is not accustomed.”
(Reporting by Nicolas Misculin; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Rosalba O’Brien)
